1. STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENSProbably the least surprising movie on the list. It's a juggernaut of a film that has already broken a dozen or so box office records. This is not surprising. What is surprising is that it turns out the movie is pretty great. I've seen it twice in theaters (something I haven't done in a long time) and I enjoyed it more the second time and I will likely see the movie again before buying it on Blu-Ray. There are things I didn't like about the movie, but really my biggest gripe with this film is that the score is underwhelming. No new themes, no rousing marches. It's fine, just kind of bland. I mean even The Phantom Menace had Duel of the Fates. Despite that, there was much to love in this new entry - the nostalgia factor balanced with a cast of fresh faces that are really wonderful; amazing practical effects; Han Solo. Above all I loved Rey as the new protagonist of the series and Kylo Ren as the villain. Rey is strong, vulnerable, funny, smart and energetic. Kylo Ren is dark, dangerous and subtly layered. It was great to see nuanced characters in a 40 year old space soap opera. JJ Abrams did a great job of establishing a universe that feels both familiar and new. I can't wait for Rian Johnson's Episode VIII.
2. CREEDOh man, how I love a good Rocky movie, or even an okay Rocky movie. Well, honestly I love all the Rocky movies (except IV - sorry Drago). So I have been excited for this movie since I first heard about it. And Ryan Coogler (who co-wrote and directed the film) knocked it out (of the park). It's hard to make a movie that balances nostalgia while bringing something new to the table (see above), but the Creed team struck that balance amazingly well. And speaking of scores, this one delivers. New themes blended with old ones - like this. Michael B. Jordan is a great actor and he is great in this role, but the real standout here is good ol' Sylvester Stallone in his 7th (yes 7th) outing as the Champ Rocky Balboa. Give this man the Oscar right now.
3. INSIDE OUTPixar is king as far as I'm concerned. Of the 16 films they've released since 1995, there's only one I don't really like (Cars 2 in case you're wondering). The rest of them range from pretty darn good to amazing. Inside Out has to be in my top five favorites, maybe top three. Such an emotional (pun intended) movie that balances humor, heart, adventure and the bizarre to create a transcendent movie-going experience. It's a movie about understanding the purpose of the bad feelings as well as the good. It reminds me of this. Seeing this with my wife on a date night was one of my favorite movie going experiences this year. It also helps watching this movie as a father of daughters.
4. THE MARTIANOne of the few cases where the book wasn't better than the movie. I wouldn't say it was worse either. It's kind of like Castaway, but on Mars and with real science The Martian is a feel-great movie. It's about the power of cooperation, the unconquerable nature of the human spirit and all those other lovely clichés. Matt Damon has to carry a lot of the movie and he does so with aplomb, but the supporting cast is game and no one lets the ball drop. My personal favorite is Danny Glover in a small, but important and memorable role. Schools should show this movie and read this book to inspire kids to work in math and science.
5. MR. HOLMESA small, quiet, deliberately paced film about an aging Sherlock Holmes? Well, it has the benefit of being one of Ian McKellan's finest performances and a tightly written script that weaves three seemingly unconnected stories into a satisfying conclusion where all loose ends are tied and you're left feeling better about the world as a result. The premise is that Sherlock Holmes is now reaching the end of his life, his memory is fading and he is trying to remember the answer to a mystery he already solved, but Watson had recorded incorrectly. It's a great story with twists and turns, but smaller from other Sherlock adaptations of late. Also keep your eye on Milo Parker.
6. BRIDGE OF SPIESPairing Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg was bound to create some compelling drama, but I wasn't expecting to like this film as much as I did. It felt like To Kill a Mockingbird meets Thirteen Days (or even Spielberg's Lincoln). It's a courtroom drama without much courtroom and a Cold War movie without much fighting. It's about backroom deals and tricky politics. I was proud to be an American when I watched it, but I felt empathy for the "other" as well. Until I saw Creed I was sure the Best Supporting Actor category was going to be owned by Mark Rylance, he gives the most understated performance of the year and he sells you wholesale on his character despite being a Soviet spy. One of Spielberg's least flashy films, but a fine addition to his already stunning canon.
7. BROOKLYNOne of the few real Oscar contenders that I've had the chance of seeing so far. I was amazed at how much I liked this film. Like numbers 5 & 6, this is a small picture. Small in scope and stakes. Saorise Ronan carries the film in another small but masterful performance from this year. Emory Cohen was also a standout as Eilis' (Ronan) love interest, Tony and Julia Waters (best known as Mrs. Weasley from the Harry Potter films) gives the film a much-needed dose of humor playing a strict boarding-home mother in the Big Apple. The production design and cinematography are sharp and both help make this film rise above its trappings as a rote coming-of-age story.
8. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - ROGUE NATIONI've tried to sprinkle some class into this list, but sometimes there's a popcorn flick that just grabs you by the shirt collar and pulls you along for a couple of hours. By the end of the fifth Mission: Impossible film you have a bit of whiplash, but you're smiling too. The plot is nothing special - some secret organization is hellbent on sending the world into chaos to prove..."I think it's something to do with free will" (to borrow a phrase from another movie) or not. It doesn't really matter what matters is that there is only one man who can stop them and his name is Tom Cruise...er, I mean Ethan Hunt. But finally Hunt has a worthy female counterpart in Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson). I can hardly remember any of the other women in the MI movies, but Ilsa is more than capable without Ethan and is saving him much more often than he is saving her. Strong female protagonists abound in 2015 and Ms. Faust is at the top of that list.
9. PADDINGTONI was not at all familiar with the Paddington books when I first saw the trailer and so I was completely uninterested in seeing this movie. It didn't help that the first trailer was a scene from the movie set in a bathroom that had mostly gross out gags about earwax and look at the movie poster, not the best. Then I saw the first reviews come in and then more. Pretty soon I was convinced that I would at least have to take a look at it. I am so glad I did. It's a charming, heartwarming, hilarious gem of a movie with some great performances, particularly Hugh Bonneville as the wonderfully dry Mr. Brown. It's a modernized look at an older tale, but it retains the charm and humanity that made this bear so famous to begin with.
10. ANT-MANA lot of people are tired of comic book movies, but I find it so fascinating that this is what most Summer movies have become. It doesn't surprise me either. When you look at film history things always happen in waves. Eventually this fad will pass and something else will take its place. I'm fine with it sticking around for a little while longer if we keep getting movies like Ant-Man. The 65th (or so it feels) entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is fresh and breezy thanks to a light-hearted performance by Paul Rudd and a low-stakes heist movie plot. It's an origin story, a caper, an action film and it's quite funny. Michael Peña really shines as Scott Lang's ever-positive partner in crime, Luis. And how can you not love a movie who's climactic final battle happens inside a train set in a little girl's room? Bonus points too for introducing us to the first headlining female superhero in the MCU - watch out for Ant-Man and the Wasp in 2018.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
THE GOOD DINOSAURThis one falls under really good Pixar stuff. I include it here for two reasons: first, I was surprised at how much I liked this movie. The story wasn't anything terribly new, but it was fun and it was told in a really surprising way - as a Western. I wasn't expecting that and being pleasantly surprised at the movies these days is rare for me. And second, the landscape animation in this movie is AMAZING. The cartoonish character designs were always a little off-putting for me, but the landscapes are so photo realistic it is scary. Go see the movie for that reason alone. Really Pixar is genius for releasing this movie in the same year as Inside Out - get them in with a heavy hitter that gross hundreds of millions of dollars and you may just earn enough good will to bring in audiences for this sub-par, but still pretty good film.
SAN ANDREASNow let's just hold up here for a few minutes. I need to make this very clear: THIS IS NOT A GOOD MOVIE. The dialog is terrible, the plot is utterly ridiculous and the acting is...passable. And yet - this is a GREAT movie. I say that because it is everything it's meant to B. I knew from the moment Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson ripped a car door off with his bare hands while dangling precariously from a rescue helicopter that this film would be amazing. Not good, mind you, but amazing. It's one of those movies where the action drives the plot. Earthquake comes? Luckily I got this helicopter to go save my ex-wife. Helicopter crashes? Luckily there's a truck here with the keys in it. Now there's a giant crater where the road used to be? Well we better go to that old barn and find a plane. And so on. It has everything I want in a disaster film: a series of events no one can avoid, a broken family that will be brought back together during the disaster and Paul Giamatti.
So those are my favorites from this year. What were yours?
